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Kelly Clarkson's 2002 debut single may have been A Moment Like This, but the Texas-born, Nashville-based singer has been waiting 15 years to release an album like this.

Meaning of Life, which drops Oct. 27, is the record the 35-year-old says she has always dreamed of releasing.

“It is happy and it's very sexy and it's confident and just kind of bold. At the same time, I'm thankful I didn't make this record a long time ago, because it would not have sounded like this,” said Clarkson, who has sold more than 25 million records worldwide since winning the inaugural season of American Idol.

The lead single Love So Soft offers a glimpse into the soulful sound Clarkson has honed on her eighth studio album, but that maturity really comes to life on the track Whole Lotta Woman.

“(It's) one of my favourite songs ever," the Grammy Award winner said. "It's literally, not only myself, but the entire band, like the horns, the girls, my musical director, everybody comes to life on that song. The album is kind of like that with a lot of sass and confidence, but that song in particular, I think it just has so much stank on it, it just feels like, almost like a revival.”

We caught up with Clarkson during a recent stop in Toronto to talk about her new album, The Voice, her favourite places in Canada – and that 40-Year-Old Virgin quote.

This is your first album on your new label (Atlantic Records), outside of the American Idol era (at RCA Records) – what's changed?

“I feel like a brand-new artist, you know. It was an arranged marriage before – a very successful one – but it's the first time 100% of the album is all me. Even on (2007’s) My December, there was still a lot of compromise on that. It's an amazing thing to make something you're so super proud of. I'm in love with it. It's just soulful music that I grew up on and it’s just kind of innate in me. My mom heard it and was like, 'finally.'”

And you're a mom now too.

“Yes!...I thought you would be tired (as a mom), but I'm the opposite. I'm so empowered. I'm so much more confident and just, I don't know, more bold, because I am a mother... I have friends who don't have kids and feel that way, so I don't think you necessarily need to have kids to feel that, but for me personally. I've already been a very bold, confident woman, but just the fact that you are helping to mold these little lives, and you're doing your best. It's almost like having a check – you check yourself more with little kids. You want to make sure you're being your best you because they're watching. There's just a different level of empowerment and just the amount of s--- I get done in a day is pretty insane. [laughs]”

Do you have a favourite song on the new album?

“I mean it's kind of hard (to choose). It's a good problem to have, one that I've never had on an album before. I was close with Breakaway, but this is an album that I feel anything could be a single. It's just a matter of what direction you are going. What do you want to release in the winter time? What do you want to release in summer time? You really can't go wrong. It's the first time with a label I'm not worried about it.”

You have a lot going on in your life – not just the album. You also have your new children's book (River Rose and the Magical Christmas, a follow up to River Rose and the Magical Lullaby) coming out too (on Oct. 24).

“I have had so much fun doing the River Rose series... The second one was more fun because it's Christmas involved and I am still 10-years-old and love magic. It's been really fun to do both projects at the same time. It's like you can escape one to work on one or escape the other. You come back and you're fresh. There was actually so much going on for the end of this year that I didn't get nervous about any of it because I couldn't. There was no time.”

You're also going to be on The Voice.

“I'm pumped about The Voice. I'm probably just as much excited about that as I am about the album... It sounds cheesy but I'm very excited for the opportunity to be a part of these (contestants' careers) – who knows, 10 years from now these people, their careers could blossom and you were a part of that because you turned your chair. Like, that's really cool. I imagine (American Idol judges) Simon (Cowell), Randy (Jackson) and Paula (Abdul) feel the same way with all the artists' lives they were a part of that are now big artists. That's pretty cool that you are one of the reasons. I'm excited about giving back in that sort of way.”

“We took the kids to the (Ripley's) Aquarium. It is insane! It is so cool. My kids loved it. The adults loved it. "I love Canada. Especially I love Toronto, but I am more of a wilderness person, so British Columbia is one of my favourite places on the planet...It's like the one place outside of the U.S. my husband and I would buy (a house).”

You're pretty active on social media, is that something you've done consciously? Do you use it to be more involved with your fans?

“I think I've come around to the fact that one: it's nice to have direct access, you can really tell people the truth. Sometimes things get out there and you can go, 'That's not really true.' And also, if I could have tweeted Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey or Annie Lennox when I was a kid, I would have freaked out...

“It's become such a thing people focus on... If I post a picture and someone is like 'you're fat' I just let it go, but if I post something and it says 'Thank you to all the servicemen for sacrificing your lives and bettering our country' and someone says 'You're fat' – it wasn't just disrespectful to me, it was disrespectful because of what I was referring to or talking about... It's a cowardly thing to hide behind your phone or your computer. I'm like, 'Would you say that s--- to my face?' I think not. And if you would, I'd still laugh and be like, 'Still awesome. Have a good one.’...

It's been more than 10 years, but were you flattered or offended when Steve Carell used your name instead of a swear word during the waxing scene in 40-Year-Old Virgin?

“I mean, slightly both! [laughs] At first I thought 'Oh my God that's amazing! They just said my name.' Then I was like 'Wait, he was in pain.' So, kind of both. Obviously, it's become a huge part of my career because it's a pop culture thing, but I do feel really gypped because I've never met him. I feel like that's bulls---! [laughs] At this point I deserve it.”